Vehicle-body support.



A. L. SESSIONS.

VEHICLE BODY SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15. 1913.

Patented Feb. 13,1917.

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ALBERT L. SESSIONS, 0F BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

VEHICLE-BODY SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Application filed April 15, 1913. Serial No. 761,240.

T 0 all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT L. SESSIONS, of Bristol, in the county ofHartford and State of Connecticut," have invented a new and ImprovedVehicle-Body Support, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more especially to devices for yieldinglysupporting the body of a vehicle upon its running gear, and an object ofmy invention, among others, is to provide a device of this class thatshall effectively cushion the body from all shocks, jars and vibrations,incident to the running of the vehicle.

One form of device embodying my invention, and in the construction anduse of which the objects herein set out, as well as others, may beattained, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1is a view in side elevation of the frame of a vehicle body showing myimproved yielding supports in place thereon.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrating a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the check valve.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 5 denotes the side bars; 6, theend bars; and 7, the cross-bars of a vehicle frame that may be of anyordinary form and construction. My improved supporting device includesan axle lever 8 pivotally connected as at 9 to the side bars 5, andpreferably on the inner sides of said bars, and, as shown herein, tobrackets 10 depending from a flange 11 of the side bar 5, that, in theconstruction herein shown, is of angle iron. An axle lever is providedfor each of the wheels of the vehicle, and each of said levers has aloop or sleeve 12 for the reception of the axle upon which the wheelsare mounted. Toggle or stay levers are pivotally connected at theirends, and the opposite end of the toggle lever 13 is pivotally securedto the side bar 5, while the opposite end of the lever 14L is pivotallyconnected to the axle lever 8.

A cylinder 15 is mounted on the frame in any suitable manner, a cylinderbeing provided for each of the axle levers. In the embodiment of myinvention shown herein, these cylinders are secured to the side bars 5so that their lower ends shall not project to any appreciable extentbelow the lower edge of the side bars. These cylinders each have apiston 16, and a piston rod 17 connected thereto, the lower end of whichrod rests in engagement with one of the axle lovers 8, as shown herein,an anti-friction member 18, of any suitable construction, beinginterposed between the end of the piston rod and the axle lever.

A pressure tank 19 is mounted on the frame in any suitable position andis con nected by pipes 20-2l, with each of the cylinders 15. This tankmay be supplied with air under pressure in any suitable manner, and thispressure is supplied to each of the cylinders 15 in such manner as maybe desired, either directly or through the medium of some other agent.In the embodiment of my invention, as herein shown, I prefer to fill, ornearly fill, each of the cylinders with some liquid, as an oil havingconsiderable density, that may act as a lubricant for the pistons, andthe pipes 21 are so constructed and located that the oil will beretained within the cylinders, or so influenced that it will flow backinto the cylinder under the movements of the piston. This result may beeffected in various ways, as herein shown the pipes 21 having a bend orgoose-neck terminating at the end of a vertical rise and located at suchdistance from the cylinder that this vertically arranged part of thepipe will contain all of the oil that may be forced out of the cylinderby the movements of the piston.

In order to insure that the toggle levers and axle levers shall not beforced into engagement with each other, or against the side bars, shouldthe pressure apparatus above described, for any reason, fail to work, Iprovide cushioning springs 22, secured in proper position to preventsuch action. As herein shown, such springs are secured to the frameoverlying the joint between the axle lever and the toggle lever 14, oneend of the springs being free, but in position to contact with the lever8 shouldthe parts, for any reason, be forced together to an undueextent.

A device constructed as above described obtains all the advantages of anair cushion to resist the vibrations incident to the run ning of thevehicle and at the same time reduces the liability to leakage of the airto a minimum, as the air is confined to the pressure tank andconnections, while the oil is employed in connection with the movableparts and is less liable to leak out of the cylinder than would be theair.

In some forms of construction it may be desirable to control themovements of the fluids and to this end I provide a check valve 23 ineach of the connections between the cylinder and tank 19, this checkvalve yielding freely to pressure within the tank 19 but closing topressure in the opposite direction, a port 24 being provided in thischeck valve to regulate the flow of air passing the check valve.

By locating the cylinders 15 at the side of the frame, and preferably atthe inside of the frame, a cylinder of a longer dimension may beobtained than would be the case if the cylinders were located directlyunder the frame parts.

By employing a cylinder with means to resist the movement of the lever,this cylinder being located near the pivotal point of attachment of thelever to the frame, a minimum amount of movement of the piston isrequired to effectually resist a considerably greater amount of movementof the wheels, and the location of the cylinder is therefore much morepractical than in prior constructions where the amount of movement ofthe piston has been considerable, the latter causing excessive wear,objectionable size, and difficulty in preventing leaking of the air.

I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle frame, an axle lever pivotally attachedthereto, a piston rod positioned to oppose movement of said lever in onedirection, a piston secured to said rod, a cylinder to contain saidpiston, a pressure tank, and a connection between said tank and cylinderconstructed to receive contents of the cylinder and prevent its flowaway from the cylinder toward said tank.

2. In combination with a vehicle frame, an axle lever pivotally attachedthereto, a cylinder secured to the frame, a piston located in thecylinder, a piston rod projecting from said piston in position to opposemovement of said axle lever in one direction,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

top of the cylinder to prevent flow of liquid from the cylinder to saidtank.

4:. In combination with the frame of a vehicle body, an axle leverpivotally attached thereto, means upon said lever to receive an axle, acylinder secured to the frame, a piston located in the cylinder, apiston rod projecting from said piston and slidably engaging said axlelever, a pressure tank, and a connection between said tank and said cyl-V I inder.

5. In combination with a vehicle frame, an axle lever pivotally attachedthereto, a piston rod positioned to oppose movement of said lever in onedirection, a piston se cured to said rod, a cylinder to contain saidpiston, a pressure tank, and a connection between said tank and piston,said connection extending upwardly to an extent sufficient to containthe liquid contents of said cylinder and prevent its flow to said tank.

6. In combination with the frame of a vehicle body, an axle leverpivotally attached thereto and having means to receive an axle,

a cylinder secured to the frame and located vertically at the side ofthe frame members and above the bottoms thereof, a piston located insaid cylinder, and a piston rod connected with the piston and inengagement with said lever 'to receive the inward thrust thereof.

ALBERT L. SESSIONS. Witnesses:

ARTHUR B. JENKINS, E. F. EATON.

Washington, D. C.

